Valve Allows User Merchandise Sales with 3D Printing Partnership

With a library of memorable first-party games, Valve isn't short on merchandising opportunities. But now it's allowing the average user to get a piece of the pie. Striking a deal with 3D printing company Shapeways, Valve is now letting anyone create 3D prints of unique Valve assets and sell that merchandise on their personal Shapeways storefronts.

The Valve license is available for free to all Shapeways users looking to sell a Valve product. This includes anything based on Valve's games like Portal, Team Fortress 2, and Left 4 Dead, but also covers Valve's hardware, like the Steam Link and Steam Controller. In exchange, Valve takes 10 percent of all sales cuts, with Shapeways keeping track of all licensing payments.

More information can be found on the Shapeways website, along with some example items. Check out those Dota 2 figurines, Companion Cube ring boxes, and Half-Life HEV Chargers. There's even a Half-Life 3 Lucky Coin! Look at that intrepid entrepreneur, already looking ahead to Half-Life 3's inevitable announcement.

Instructions on setting up products with the Valve license can be found on this helpful tutorial page. Maybe get to work on creating your own Dispenser.

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?